ISLAMABAD: The Asian Study Group celebrated its 49th anniversary with the opening event of 2022-23 titled Ishq. A very special presentation by Serendip Productions shared the amazing journey of Ishq, the Legend of Heer Ranjha, a musical staged at the prestigious Saddlers Wells theatre in London.

Parveen Malik, president of the Asian Study Group, said: “The last couple of years have been a little traumatic for everybody but we continue to hold our events throughout. The focus of the ASG has been to create an understanding and appreciation of other cultures in the Asian region and in the past we have worked with various embassies and diplomatic missions. H.E. Dr Christian Turner, the British high commissioner, is the patron of the ASG this year and we are delighted to have him on board.”

Dr Turner said: “It is an extraordinary honour and privilege to be the patron of the ASG. I find the range of activities incredible. It is wonderful that we are doing such events again. Delighted to be working with ASG and this organisation shows the richness of what there is in this country.”

He introduced Serendip Productions, which is one of Pakistan’s premier fully integrated production and media companies established by Huma Mustafa Beg and Dr Farooq Beg, the international award-winning producer and director.

Heer Ranjha is one of the most popular but tragic romances of Punjab. It is an epic tale that bears repeating, but interestingly is a precursor to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Dr Beg told the audience about the making of the Anglo-Punjabi-Sufi musical, sharing behind-the-scene scenarios, video clips, interviews and audience reactions. Artists from both cultures, British and Pakistani, came together to portray the tragic story of love between the exquisite Heer and the confident Ranjha.

“We conceived Ishq about 10 years ago when we saw Aladdin in London and we thought, why don’t we do our own stories in a language understood in the world and English is the lingua franca,” Huma Beg said.

The production had British and Pakistani experts working together so two choreographers, two musical composers/directors, actors from both countries and so on led to a spectacular, colourful fusion.

Khanzada Asfandyar Khattak also performed at the event.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2022